He’s a Venice Beach lifeguard and surfer who graduated from the University of Hawaii and wears a shirt that announces him as “Just a Kid from SYRIA.”

One minute (precisely 1:02.22) in the pool and his Olympics were over. In another sense they were just beginning for Azad Al-Barazi. He transitioned from swimmer to ambassador for a country where he has never lived but with which he is bonded by blood — that which runs through him and that which is spilled daily in civil war.

“Every time I tell people I swim for Syria but I’m an L.A. County lifeguard it blows their mind,” Al-Barazi said in a phone interview as he returned to the Athletes Village from Copacabana Beach on Thursday in Brazil.

“Look at this guy, living the American dream, but representing a country in turmoil. Every time you hear about Syria it’s about ISIS, about bombing, about people dying. I’m trying to be positive and show that not every Syrian is bad, that not everything about Syria is negative.”

That positive attitude was tested as soon as he got off the plane in Rio de Janeiro last week.

He was detained. Although he had emails and other documents proving he was competing in the Olympics, Al-Barazi was not allowed to leave the airport for three hours.

“That’s the world these days,” he said. “You can choose to get angry about what people think. I don’t usually get upset. I just try to inform them. Syria is a hot topic and it wasn’t their fault. It was my federation that didn’t notify the Olympics committee that I was arriving.”

Al-Barazi’s best finish in a conference championship race while at UH was fifth. He’s significantly faster now, but knew he was a heavy underdog to even make it to the final in his one Olympic event, the 100-meter breaststroke.

He did, however, expect better than the 36th-best time of 46 competitors in his first round Saturday. Adam Peaty of Great Britain eventually won with a world-record 57.13 in the final.

Al-Barazi is almost as much laid-back beach boy as intense world-class competitor. So he doesn’t let frustration lead to bitterness, but did say the stress hurt his ability to compete at his best.

“I wish I swam better. That would’ve been epic for the country and myself,” he said. “But just coming into Rio, getting detained, dealing with all that drained me and swimming is 90 percent mental.”

Al-Barazi said he’d received similar treatment at an airport one other time, upon his return home to Los Angeles after a trip to Morocco.

He was born in Saudi Arabia but is allowed to compete for Syria because his parents are from there. He moved with his family to California when he was 8. Al-Barazi transferred to UH after two years at Santa Monica Community College, and graduated in 2010 with a degree in kinesiology.

“I loved the simple life in Hawaii,” said Al-Barazi, who returns each year for Duke’s OceanFest.

He competed in the 2012 Olympics in the same event, not advancing out of the first heat then, either.

Al-Barazi, 28, lives and trains in Los Angeles. Money is tight; he loves competitive swimming but is not sure about taking a shot at the 2020 Games.

“Hey, maybe I’ll try for surfing, they’re going to have that at the next Olympics,” he said. “But I look at my friends who are my age, and they’re making money and saving money. It might be time for me to do that.”

He visited Syria with his parents several times as a child. Most of his relatives have left the civil-war-ravaged country. An uncle with whom he is very close remains, however.

“Imagine, wherever you live, a war happens. It can be tough to leave when you established a business, your whole life. And your wife has family who are very old. You can’t just pack your bags and leave. There’s a process to it.”

And it costs a lot of money.

“He was working renting out construction machinery,” Al-Barazi said of his uncle. “Now Syria is not building things, it’s going the opposite way — things are getting destroyed. He was doing well.”

He doesn’t consider himself very political-minded, but the dual citizen of the United States and Syria doesn’t evade issues such as immigration, either. He said he swims to give hope to the people.

“Who is America, really? We all come from different countries, different religions. What makes America great is that it’s about opportunity for everyone,” he said. “It’s frustrating what (Republican presidential nominee Donald) Trump and his followers believe. It’s ignorance. But you can’t get upset about it. You gotta inform them.”

He said his story is nothing compared to others at the Olympics — like his friends Yusra and Sarah Mardini, swimmers who fled Syria on a tiny boat last year.

“It’s so cool the IOC did that. I couldn’t help but get emotional about that,” he said, referring to the refugee team composed of athletes with no country.

Azad Al-Barazi, however, is a man with two countries. He knows he is much more fortunate than most Syrians — those who remain there and those struggling elsewhere.

“That’s who I’m trying to target to inspire,” he said. “You can say I’m an ambassador. And, I’m going to enjoy the rest of the Olympics and this beautiful country and its beautiful people.

“And the beach. I definitely enjoy the salt water.”

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaii warriorworld.com/quick-reads.